Bhatia looked to be stymied by a tree on the par-5 ninth about an hour later, only to play a smart wedge around the branches of a tree to set up birdie for a 66.
They were at 11-under 133 and waiting to see if anyone from the afternoon could catch them.
But no one was too far away.
J.J. Spaun had a 68 and was one shot behind. Rory McIlroy was at the top of the leaderboard at various points of another beautiful March day, mainly because he was able to play from the short grass instead of the rough and pine straw. He had a 68 and was two behind.
But there is trouble lurking. McIlroy discovered that with a pulled drive on the sixth and hitting the trees with his second shot on the ninth, both leading to bogey.
“I think I hit more fairways in six holes today than I did in 18 yesterday,” McIlroy said. “Got it in play much better and then from there was able to give myself some opportunities and obviously make some birdies early. Couldn’t quite continue that on to the back nine, but it was much better off the tee.”
Also two shots behind was Collin Morikawa, the runner-up last week at Bay Hill who chipped in twice among his nine birdies in a round of 65.
“I can’t say I drove it great and hit the ball amazing, but I really just took advantage of when I did hit good shots,” Morikawa said. “I putted really nicely. Also I didn’t try fighting it too much. I knew it wasn’t quite exactly how I was hitting it, and you just make due.”
Two-time defending champion Scottie Scheffler had to settle for a 70 and was six shots behind, still very much in the mix considering he rallied from about that much on one day last year.
The biggest fear Friday was what to expect on Saturday, with wind in the forecast on a course that can punish even in calm conditions.
The opening rounds were the time to score. Some players, such as Lee, Bhatia and Morikawa, filled up their scorecards with birdies to atone for the handful of mistakes. Billy Horschel remained in the mix with only two birdies and just one bogey.
The previous day, Horschel had nine birdies and four bogeys.
“Even though I made a lot of birdies, I'll take today's round of golf because the way I felt out there — the way mentally I played — I committed to a lot more golf shots that I did yesterday," Horschel said. "I made nine birdies yesterday. Yeah, it's not bad. But I put four bogeys in there which were just really uncommitted shots.”
That's what Sawgrass demands above all — commitment.
The attention turned to the cut line at the $25 million tournament, the richest in golf. Xander Schauffele, who has made 59 consecutive cuts on the PGA Tour, finished with a two-putt birdie on the troublesome ninth hole for a 71 that left him on the bubble.
Schauffele, who only returned last week from two months of letting a rib injury heal, has made only seven birdies in two rounds and was not the least bit impressed.
“Not hitting it close enough, to duffing chips, to missing every fairway, to hitting fairways, to missing greens. It’s pretty gross, to be completely honest,” he said. “So if I can eke out this cut, that would be nice. But the game feels pretty bad.”
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